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My mother-in-law's husband drinks cows milk. How could I help him?

12-27-2013, 02:28 PM

He is 52 years old and obese. He jokes about it with me. He tells me when he was younger he looked like Gilligan now he looks like the Skipper. They were over at my house for Christmas and also my wife's grandparents. They also drink cow's milk. His name is Rob by the way.

I really did cringe when my mother-in-law walks over to her husband and hands him a small glass of milk and she has one too. My mother-in-law got diagnosed with osteopenia about six years ago. I was going to joke around with her. I was going to tell her Janae you've been drinking cow's milk your whole life. How do you have osteopenia? You should have bones of steel! I changed my mind though.

My wife's grandma was really surprised when I told her I don't drink milk. Oh by the way Rob is also a type 2 diabetic. He did tell me that he also drinks almond milk as well. Which is good news.

I want my wife's family to live long healthy lives. What I can show them to prove that cow's milk is bad for you? Also I'm not sure how drinking cow's milk affects a type 2 diabetic.

If anyone has any studies, videos or anything else to provide. I will be most grateful.

It's just sad to see my wife's grandma take 10 pills before eating her dinner.

Who told you cow's milk is bad for you? Lot's of people here drink it - milk and dairy are primal if your body tolerates it and does not show symptoms of inflammation.

My personal experience is that I can eat cheese, have no problems with butter, but milk and cottage cheese give me some symptoms if I consume them too frequently. There is also a theory floating around here that once your gut has healed from gluten damage you will be able to better tolerate dairy.

At any rate, I would say grains and seed oils are much bigger factors in promoting diabetes than cow's milk.

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I agree with Eureka. Cow's milk and milk products are not a problem--unless they're a problem. I can't drink milk, but I can eat butter, cheese, and cream with no trouble. There are lots of lactose-intolerant people out there, but there are plenty of people who are not.

What I find odd is that you've zeroed in on milk as the devil, without any mention of what else he eats, or other lifestyle habits. If he's eating lots of grains, sugars, and seed oils, those are much bigger problems than drinking milk. Ditto if he's sedentary. Double ditto if he's not watching his BG levels--despite knowing how--and keeping them in check.

I want my wife's family to live long healthy lives.

A lot of people on different dietary forums say this. And it's perfectly reasonable to want that for them. Nobody wants to see their loved ones die prematurely of preventable disease.

But you cannot make them want to change. They will do what they're going to do, whether you like it or not, and even if it sickens and kills them. And most people don't want to be told they have to give up a major part of their diet, something they enjoy. On top of that, they've heard so much conflicting dietary advice over the years, it's kinda hard to get excited about the latest "truth" to come down the pike (even if it's valid).

And then there's the fact that nobody likes a missionary. People really, really resent do-gooders who think they know better than they do and see them as lost souls in need of salvation. They will either put up a fierce resistance to missionary efforts, or pay lip service to get the missionary to go away, but the likelihood of actual conversion is slim to none. If you had a vegan cousin who wanted you to see the evils of eating animal products, repent, and follow the low-fat ways of Fuhrman/Esselstyn/McDougall, would you be receptive, or would you tell him where to step off? Right. So don't be a missionary. Nobody likes a missionary.

For what it's worth, I have relatives who (I believe) would benefit greatly from cutting wheat out of their diets. I really, really wish they would, and hate holding my tongue while they talk about their latest health woes. They know I don't eat wheat, and that my health has improved in miraculous ways because of that. I've even put forth the idea of giving up wheat on a trial basis, just to see if it helps. But they don't want to give it up, and I can't make them, so I leave the subject alone unless they ask. I don't like it, but it's their lives to lead as they see fit. And nobody likes a missionary.

What I can show them to prove that cow's milk is bad for you?

If you yourself have no credible resources proving that cows' milk is bad for humans, then how did you reach this conclusion in the first place? How did you come to believe this? Who told you that, and why do you believe them?

Also I'm not sure how drinking cow's milk affects a type 2 diabetic.

Even if it is a problem for individual diabetics, it is a hell of a lot less of a problem than consuming grains and sugars.

Honestly, I think you've picked the wrong target, here. If he's not lactose intolerant, milk is not the problem. Isolating it, and taking it out of context from the rest of his diet and lifestyle makes no sense at all.

Comment

agree with the others that milk is probably the least of his dietary ills.

i see you're a new member here, so just one bit of general advice about communicating your primal enthusiasm to those around you: nobody likes a zealot. if they ask you questions about your new habits then be honest. you can offer them links and articles but very few people are receptive to, "U R DOIN IT ALL WRONGZ".

As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.

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I've spent this week at my brother's house. His wife bought 3 gallons of raw cow's milk in anticipation of my visit, since I don't have a good source back home. I've had a lot of raw milk this week, and I feel like a champion.

Sent via lightsaber

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Depending on your needs; cow milk can be a great food - unless you are obese or very overweight of course! So no, an obese person would be better off without milk in most cases, infact they will do better without ANY food, since they already carry so much food stored in their bodies...

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."

- Schopenhauer

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Depending on your needs; cow milk can be a great food - unless you are obese or very overweight of course! So no, an obese person would be better off without milk in most cases, infact they will do better without ANY food, since they already carry so much food stored in their bodies...

I'd try that no food diet, except with hypoglycemia, you have to eat so your blood glucose stays elevated, or risk going into a diabetic coma....No thanks. I'm not ready to die yet. Switching to primal and getting rid of all the grains has helped immensely in how often I have to eat. :P

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Depending on your needs; cow milk can be a great food - unless you are obese or very overweight of course! So no, an obese person would be better off without milk in most cases, infact they will do better without ANY food, since they already carry so much food stored in their bodies...

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I'm a fermented dairy user, freely admit it. As for a glass of straight milk, don't touch the stuff.
However I'm guessing that the in-laws are eating the usual SAD diet and stuffing in the carbs/grains and low fat cookies.

You've got a long strange trip to convert them, but have at it. Film it as a reality TV show.

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I've spent this week at my brother's house. His wife bought 3 gallons of raw cow's milk in anticipation of my visit, since I don't have a good source back home. I've had a lot of raw milk this week, and I feel like a champion.

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I'd try that no food diet, except with hypoglycemia, you have to eat so your blood glucose stays elevated, or risk going into a diabetic coma....No thanks. I'm not ready to die yet. Switching to primal and getting rid of all the grains has helped immensely in how often I have to eat. :P

Wish I had a link to the study. They hooked a morbidly obese man up to a dripontaining vitamins & minerals (& I'm guessing something to stablise bg) & he only had water to drink for a year.

Sent from my HTC_PN071 using Marks Daily Apple Forum mobile app

Comment

I've spent this week at my brother's house. His wife bought 3 gallons of raw cow's milk in anticipation of my visit, since I don't have a good source back home. I've had a lot of raw milk this week, and I feel like a champion.